Confusion in Michael Jackson Wrongful Death CaseBy:Lawyers.com on 2/28/2012

A wrongful death suit filed by Michael Jackson’s father against the late singer’s doctor has been thrown out of court– but the family need not fret, because a suit previously filed by Jackson’s mother is still ongoing.

Famous singer killed by doctor’s misuse of anesthetic medicineFamily could be eligible for millions to replace Jackson’s lost earningsWrongful death suits require skillful litigating in highly emotional casesDeath of an Icon

Joe Jackson filed suit against Dr. Conrad Murray in August 2010, after his son, famous pop star Michael Jackson, passed away on an overdose of a prescription anesthetic in the summer of 2009. Murray administered unusually large and frequent doses of the drug Propofol to the singer as a treatment for chronic insomnia, in what a judge described as “medicine madness.” Propofol has never been approved as a sleeping aid.

In November, Murray was sentenced to four years behind bars for involuntary manslaughter. With the criminal conviction on the books, it looked like Joe Jackson might have a slam-dunk in his wrongful death case. However, there was one small problem. “Joe Jackson filed his case several months after Michael’s mother had already filed her case,” explains personal injury attorney Jon “Mitch” Jackson from California firm Jackson and Wilson. “In these instances, the first legitimate claim that is filed in time will normally control the litigation.”

Who Can File? The Michael Jackson case is unusual in that his parents have the ability to sue at all. “While in most cases the existence of children would prevent surviving parents from also asserting a wrongful death claim, there is an exception allowing for a financially dependent parents to sometimes bring claims,” Jackson (no relation to the singer) says. “While each state is different, in California, Mr. Jackson’s surviving children may bring a wrongful death claim. If he was married at the time of his death, his surviving spouse would also be able to bring a claim. In California, a registered domestic partner may also assert a wrongful death case.”

Murray’s conviction will likely aid the family’s pursuit of a lawsuit. “As in the OJ Simpson case, many people charged with the crime of murder are also sued in the civil courts for wrongful death,” the lawyer says. “And it should be remembered that the very high burden of proof in a criminal murder case (beyond a reasonable doubt) is considerably lower than a ‘a preponderance of the evidence’ in a civil case. In these cases it is important to work with the District Attorney’s Office to coordinate their prosecution of the crime with our handling of the civil wrongful death case.”

How To Take Action While Michael Jackson’s situation is unique because of his fame and popularity, wrongful death is hardly a rare phenomenon. “The fact of the matter is that about every five minutes in the United States, there is a wrongful death,” Mitch Jackson says. “This equates to more than 100,000 children, teenagers and adults sustaining untimely deaths each and every year. And here’s the disturbing part- especially because I’m the proud father of a teenage driver- a majority of the traffic related wrongful deaths involve teenage drivers between the ages of 16 and 21.”

What fits the criteria for wrongful death? “Generally speaking, the death must have been caused, in whole or in part, by the defendant’s conduct,” says Jackson. “It must be shown that the defendant was negligent or acted with intentional, willful, wanton or reckless conduct.” People in the unfortunate situation of needing to file a suit over the loss of a loved one should seek out an experienced attorney to make sure they are fully compensated. “There’s an art to properly handling, litigating and trying a wrongful death case,” Jackson says. “Explaining and obtaining monetary damages from a jury requires the ability to relate your clients’ harm and loss in a meaningful and understanding way. The ability of the surviving family members to meet their financial burdens and gain some level of emotional closure is many times dependent on the amount of the verdict you get for your clients.”

Before his untimely death as he was preparing for a comeback tour, Jackson reached a level of worldwide fame and popularity seldom if ever rivaled,with some 13 Billboard U.S. number-one hits and 28 singles in the top ten in a career spanning four decades. His top album, 1982′s Thriller, sold an estimated 110 million copies around the globe and spent 80 consecutive weeks on the Billboard Top 10 list. His lifetime earnings are estimated to be around $500 million, and rights to his music catalog could be worth billions. Fame and fortune took their toll, however, as Jackson labored in later years through accusations of child molestation, numerous plastic surgeries, increasingly bizarre behavior and a reliance on pills and medication that ultimately led to his death at age 50.

Jackson’s massive earning potential might indicate that his family is in for a big payoff. However, regardless of the suit’s outcome, the Jacksons may have trouble collecting- Murray was reportedly deeply in debt when he started working for Jackson, and killed his famous patient before he ever got paid.

Attorneys for AEG Live won a round in court Tuesday when a judge ordered Michael Jackson's mother and his three children to answer more questions about their lawsuit accusing the entertainment conglomerate of negligently hiring Dr. Conrad Murray to care for the late King of Pop.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos also said AEG Live can continue taking Katherine Jackson's deposition, which began last week but is still incomplete.

Jackson was set to perform a string of 50 shows in London for AEG Live, but he died June 25, 2009 of acute propofol intoxication in Los Angeles while rehearsing for the concert series.

The negligence suit was filed in September 2010 by Katherine Jackson on behalf of herself and her son's three children, Michael Jr., Paris-Michael Katherine and Prince Michael, alleging the company was negligent in hiring Murray.

The complaint also alleges AEG Live is responsible for the medical decisions made by Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death and was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison.

AEG Live attorney Marvin Putnam said he was pleased with the ruling, because the judge ordered everything the defense wanted except for monetary sanctions covering the cost of bringing the motion. He said Katherine Jackson's lawyers cannot make "heinous'' allegations in a lawsuit, then refuse to show proof.

Putnam has called the lawsuit a "shakedown'' of AEG Live.

However, plaintiffs' attorney Kevin Boyle said the AEG Live motion was "typical defense gamesmanship.''

During the hearing, Boyle claimed some of the questions AEG Live posed to Jackson's children were highly personal, including whether they had anything in their diary indicating their father "was going to kill himself.''

AEG Live lawyers maintain the firm was not Murray's employer. They say Katherine Jackson has not provided all the information she has to show that AEG hired Murray to be her late son's exclusive doctor as he prepared for the tour.

But Boyle said his side provided an extensive response, including statements from two AEG Live executives that Murray was given the job as the singer's physician.

Attorney Jessica Stebbins, also representing AEG Live, said many of the responses the plaintiffs provided only arrived in her office Monday. Boyle replied that some of the answers took significant time to obtain, but he declined to elaborate, citing attorney-client privilege.

Boyle said he also may move later to amend the complaint further and to ask Palazuelos to appoint a third-party "discovery referee.'' The referee, typically a retired judge, would sort out the materials exchanged between boh sides and make recommendations to the judge.

Stebbins said she was not sure a discovery referee is necessary, but would agree to have one if both sides concur on the person serving the role. She also said she may ask Palazuelos to postpone the trial date, now set for Sept. 10, because of the delays in getting the information needed in preparing AEG Live's defense.

An LA judge has told the mother and children of Michael Jackson that they still need to provide more information relating to their legal claim against AEG Live, which they are suing for hiring Conrad Murray as the late king of pop’s personal physician. Murray, of course, was found guilty of causing the singer’s death in 2009 through negligence.

Lawyers for the live music giant said that the Jacksons had not provided credible evidence to back up their claim that AEG employed Murray and was therefore liable for his negligence, and that a lot of the information that had been provided arrived late.

Reps for the Jackson family countered that it had taken some time to get the live firm the information it requested, not least because some of the questions asked of the late king of pop’s children were harrowing to answer, and that they had now provided extensive responses, including statements from two AEG execs saying Murray had been given the job as Jackson’s medic.

The live company, which was behind the ‘This Is It’ O2 shows abandoned after Jackson’s premature death, argues that while it may have paid for Murray, he was selected and hired by the singer himself, and the company had no control over the medic’s actions.

After both sides presented their arguments to the court, the Jacksons’ reps were asked to provide the information AEG claimed was still lacking, and to see that Katherine Jackson’s deposition on the case – which has only been half done so far – was completed.

At the same hearing, Katherine Jackson’s lawyer said he might request a “discovery referee” be appointed on the case, who would go through evidence provided by both sides and advise the judge on its competence. One of AEG’s attorney’s, Jessica Stebbins, said she didn’t think such a referee was required, but that her client probably wouldn’t object to that move if both sides could agree on who should perform the task.

LOS ANGELES: A US judge on Tuesday postponed until next year a trial of the promoters of Michael Jackson’s doomed 2009 comeback shows, accused by the star’s mother of sharing the blame for his death.

Lawyers for AEG Live won a postponement of the trial, which had been set for September, until next April, after arguing that they need more time to prepare their case.

Jackson’s mother Katherine – who claims that AEG Live pushed her son too hard to prepare for a series of 50 shows in London – had asked for the trial to be scheduled on a speeded-up priority list.

Specifically, she alleges they were negligent in letting the star be cared for by doctor Conrad Murray, who was jailed for four years last November over Jackson’s death from an overdose of powerful sedatives.

But AEG Live lawyers filed a request with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos last week for the trial to be delayed, saying they needed more time due to the complexity of the case.

Their legal submission also claimed that new information shows Jackson had a history of drug abuse long before the singer met Murray, hired to care for him before and during the shows at London’s O2 Arena.

On Tuesday judge Palazuelos found in their favor, putting the trial back from September 10 this year to April 2, 2013.

After the ruling, Jackson family lawyer Kevin Boyle said he could still seek a priority trial date, but suggested that the delay could actually help his clients.

“The way we keep obtaining more information, it might be beneficial,” he said.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, from an overdose of powerful sedatives including the clinical anesthetic propofol, which Murray administered to help the singer combat chronic insomnia.

Attorneys for AEG Live want Michael Jackson’s dermatologist to turn over medical records regarding the pop star, whose mother is suing the entertainment conglomerate alleging its officials negligently hired Dr. Conrad Murray to care for her late son.

The suit was filed in September 2010 by the Jackson family matriarch on behalf of herself and Michael Jackson’s three children, Michael Jr., Paris-Michael Katherine and Prince Michael, alleging the company was negligent in hiring Murray.

In documents filed Tuesday with Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos, AEG Live attorneys want Dr. Arnold Klein to turn over all of Michael Jackson’s medical records dating back to January 1984, or show why any of them are privileged and therefore not subject to the company’s subpoena. A hearing is scheduled Sept. 12.

So far, Klein has only produced records from 2008-09, while another 12 pages of documents he did not turn over were received instead from the District Attorney’s Office, according to the AEG Live court papers.

AEG Live lawyers say they need the additional documents to assist them in their defense of the company and that they previously reached an agreement with Michael Jackson’s estate concerning the scope of medical records they could receive from the singer’s physicians.

Michael Jackson was set to perform a string of 50 shows in London for AEG Live, but he died June 25, 2009, of acute propofol intoxication in Los Angeles while rehearsing for the concert series.

The complaint alleges AEG Live is responsible for the medical decisions made by Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson’s death and was sentenced Nov. 29 to four years in prison.

The family of late pop icon Michael Jackson has subpoenaed a Franklin Lakes author, seeking his testimony as part of their ongoing wrongful death suit against AEG Live.

In legal documents filed this week, lawyers for Jackson’s parents and three children subpoenaed Frank Cascio, who detailed his friendship with the King of Pop in a book called “My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship With An Ordinary Man.”

John Perez, a Newark attorney working in concert with the Jackson’s California-based legal team, confirmed Wednesday that subpoenas were being delivered to “several witnesses” as part of the pre-trial discovery process. Perez would not discuss his involvement with the case beyond that.

Cascio has been asked to report to an Iselin-based legal office on Aug. 14, where he will answer questions about his friendship with Jackson.

The Jackson family’s suit, which was filed in California in 2010, lists entertainment conglomerate AEG Live as well as the producers of the posthumous Jackson documentary “This Is It” as defendants.

It is expected the trial will commence in early 2013.

The suit accuses AEG Live of negligently hiring Dr. Conrad Murray to care for Jackson. The suit contends AEG Live “somehow forced Mr. Jackson to receive dangerous medication from his physician,” according to court documents.

Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson’s death June 25, 2009 death and was sentenced last November to four years in prison.

Jackson was set to perform a string of 50 shows in London for AEG Live, but died of acute propofol intoxication in Los Angeles while rehearsing for the concert series.

The negligence suit is by Jackson’s mother, Katherine, on behalf of herself and her son’s three children, Michael Jr., Paris-Michael Katherine and Prince Michael.

The suit alleges the company was negligent in hiring Murray to treat Michael and claims the conglomerate is also responsible for the medical decisions Murray made.

This week’s subpoena asks that Cascio also provide the Jackson family’s lawyers will any and all documents he may have related to Jackson, Dr. Murray, the “This Is It” documentary and his published book.

this actually confuses me. as far as i know, Frank was nowhere near Michael for months, if not years, before June 25 09. i wonder how he could help the Jacksons case and what information from Frank they are interested in.

(RTTNews) - AEG Live has requested that Dr. Arnold Klein, Michael Jackson's former dermatologist, turn over all of his records, dating back to January 1984. AEG is currently facing a lawsuit from the family of Jackson, who claim that its officials negligently hired Dr. Conrad Murray to care for him.

Conversely, the promoter claims that they are not responsible for Murray's actions because, while it may have paid his bills, he was hired by and reported to Jackson himself.

AEG has requested the records, or a legitimate reason from Klein why they should not be subject to the company's subpoena; currently, Klein has only surrendered documents from 2008 to 2009.

In his criminal case, Murray's lawyers argued Klein provided painkillers to Jackson, claiming that it was a reliance on that medication which caused the singer to ask Murray for propofol, which finally did him in.

Concert promoter AEG is on the defensive after the Los Angeles Times recently published confidential emails about AEG’s role in Michael Jackson’s final days. The New York Daily News revealed more of the emails in a second article this weekend.

Together, the emails paint a picture of AEG demanding that the concert tour go on, despite knowing the extremely fragile state Michael Jackson was in at the time

But what does it all mean, legally? Should AEG be found liable for Michael Jackson’s death?

Katherine Jackson and other family members sued AEG, blaming them for controlling and failing to supervise Dr. Conrad Murray, thereby causing Jackson’s death. AEG denies it controlled or supervised Murray at all. They say he was Jackson’s personal physician and he alone was responsible.

Whether that’s true or not, AEG was clearly involved in some manner. The Daily News revealed the most telling of the emails that have been publicly disclosed so far, about AEG’s role in Jackson’s final days:

Kenny Ortega sent a panicked email in the predawn hours of June 20, 2009, telling promoter Randy Phillips, the head of AEG Live, that Jackson appeared too “weak and fatigued” to rehearse the previous night, “trembling, rambling and obsessing” to the point Ortega recommended a psychological exam.

When Phillips didn’t immediately address his fears, Ortega fired off another email 11 hours later, the Daily News has learned.

“I honestly felt if I had encouraged or allowed him on stage last night he could have hurt himself,” Ortega wrote to Phillips in the confidential 1:20 p.m. missive obtained by The News.

Phillips responded within the hour, shooting down Ortega’s concerns with even more force than formerly exposed. “It is critical that neither you, me, or anyone around this show become amateur psychiatrists or physicians,” he wrote, adding that he was in touch with Jackson’s personal doctor, Conrad Murray, and had gained “immense respect” for the cardiologist who would later go to jail for involuntary manslaughter.

“(Murray) said that Michael is not only physically equipped to perform (but) that discouraging him to (perform) will hasten his decline instead of stopping it,” Phillips said.

“You cannot imagine the harm and ramifications of stopping the show now,” he wrote. “It would far outweigh ‘calling this game in the 7th inning.’ I am not just talking about AEG’s interests here, but the myriad of stuff and lawsuits swirling around MJ that I crisis manage every day and also his well-being.”

Among those revealed by the Times include Phillips’ accounts of Jackson as an “emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self loathing and doubt.” Yet he also wrote that if Jackson did not deliver, “financial disaster awaits.”

AEG says the emails paint an incomplete picture and they are only a select few out of hundreds of thousands of pages of documents produced in the court case. The company’s lawyers have actually gone on the offensive, attacking the Jackson family and blaming them for leaking these confidential emails to the media when court orders prohibited it.

Katherine Jackson and her legal team denied it. Instead, businessman Howard Mann — a business partner of Katherine Jackson — claimed responsibility for disclosing the emails to the media. He says he gathered them from a number of sources, including the Dr. Conrad Murray trial, not from Katherine Jackson. Interestingly, Howard Mann recently agreed to pay $2.5 million to the Michael Jackson Estate to settle a lawsuit against him and his companies for copyright violations.

AEG’s legal team isn’t buying that Mann is solely to blame. They claim he is nothing but an intermediary and the public revelation of the emails is a desperate reaction by the Jackson family to the realization that they are losing. AEG’s attorney said, “After months of discovery, plaintiffs now know what we have known all along — there is nothing to support their claims.”

The Jackson legal team disagrees. They claim to have even more damaging emails and feel very confident in their case against AEG.

Ultimately, the judge hearing the case will have to decide whether there is enough evidence to justify submitting the case to the jury. These emails would make for a very compelling case in front of a jury, but getting that far is the big question.

Knowing of Jackson’s condition and encouraging him to perform is not the same as being legally responsible for his death. Plus, as AEG attorneys point out, Phillips and others involved observed the King of Pop giving strong rehearsal performances and were assured by Dr. Murray that he was able to perform.

Dr. Murray clearly was the central figure. The LA Times article reports that AEG never paid Dr. Murray, and while Jackson insisted that AEG pay Dr. Murray $150,000 per month to take care of Jackson, Dr. Murray’s contract was apparently not signed by the time Jackson died. So AEG may not be responsible for Dr. Murray’s actions.

But AEG could still be liable, at least in part, if the Jackson family can convince the judge that AEG controlled and pushed Dr. Murray into getting Jackson ready to perform at all costs. The publicly-revealed emails may not be enough to accomplish that. For example, there is no mention of Dr. Murray’s propofol treatment. Refusing to cancel a show is not the same as being responsible for Jackson’s death.

Where AEG is really in trouble is with the $17.5 million lawsuit by insurer Lloyds of London, which issued an insurance policy to protect AEG in case Jackson could not perform. Lloyds claims that AEG didn’t fully disclose Jackson’s medical condition in taking out the policy, and these emails certainly suggest that AEG knew more than it told Lloyds.

series of controversial leaked e-mails related to Michael Jackson's doomed "This Is It" residency in London -- involving promoter AEG Live president Randy Phillips, Concerts West co-president Paul Gongaware, and "This Is It" director Kenny Ortega -- have spurred much industry discussion and more than a little confusion. The e-mails -- which detail an intense back-and-forth between producers and Jackson's camp, addressing his at times unsteady condition at rehearsals and concern about his ability to pull off 50 shows -- were first published in the Los Angeles Times last week in an article AEG attorney Marvin Putman calls "misleading and inaccurate."

The residency was to have begun in July of 2009 at London's O2 Arena, with more than $85 million worth of tickets already sold when Jackson died on June 25. As expected, the legal wrangling around the shows have continued, now three years after Jackson's death. A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed by Jackson's mother Katherine and his three children against AEG, saying the producers should be held liable for Jackson's death, not only because of the toll the rehearsals took on the 50-year-old pop star, but also because AEG hired Dr. Conrad Murray, who was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death.

In a development Putnam says is unrelated to the release of the e-mails, word came yesterday that AEG had dropped its $17.5 million insurance claim covering the performances.

"We said from the very beginning that any money should be paid to the estate, not to us, and we told them definitively in June that we're not claiming any losses here, i.e, we've recouped any losses," says Putnam. AEG shared in revenue from the "This Is It" film, DVD and CD, and also recouped from other sources, including merchandise and tickets that were never refunded. "So that lawsuit really doesn't have anything to do with us. It's totally moot to us and has been for years, but it's not moot to the estate, obviously."

Regarding what was leaked to the Times, Putnam says the e-mails were clearly linked to discovery on the Katherine Jackson case, not the insurance case. "When discovery started in earnest in the insurance case in May, we let them know by June that we were no longer pursuing the claim because we'd now been made whole," says Putnam.

The e-mails came from documents that "only Katherine Jackson and her attorneys had access to; we gave them to them and only them," says Putnam. "And somebody, I don't know who, seems to have told the L.A. Times [those documents] were [related to] the insurance case, but they didn't realize the documents in the Katherine Jackson case are not all the same as the documents in the insurance case. I was very quickly able to ascertain those are all from the Katherine Jackson case."

Putnam says that "Howard Mann- a longtime business partner of the Jackson family- suddenly came forward to announce that he leaked the confidential documents to the press. It's convenient that Howard Mann came forward in this fashion. Like the many who have already commented on the ridiculous statement that Mr. Mann somehow acted alone, we too believe this is impossible. In fact, we know it. As we said in our motion to the Court asking that there be an investigation into this violation, we know that only Katherine Jackson and her attorneys had the set of documents impermissibly leaked to the Los Angeles Times."A lawyer for Katherine Jackson, Kevin Boyle, told CNN that Mann's admission that he was the source of the e-mails should settle the matter. "He (Mann) definitely never received any documents from Katherine, Prince, Paris, or Blanket Jackson, nor from their lawyers in the wrongful death suit against AEG," he said. "AEG made these accusations against the Jackson family and their lawyers apparently without doing even the most rudimentary investigation."

(Mann, a memorabilia dealer who operated websites using Jackson's image, and the singer's estate reached a $2.5 million copyright settlement last week. Mann was found liable for infringing Jackson's intellectual property in a court ruling in August.)

Even so, Putnam says the Times story supports AEG's case. "The story acknowledges, for instance, that Dr. Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson's long-term physician, and that it was Michael Jackson who demanded to bring him on tour," he says. "The story also acknowledges that no agreement with Dr. Murray was ever signed, and that Dr. Murray was never paid by AEG."

Whatever their context or source, the e-mails seem to tell the story of a producer trying to make sure a big show with huge upfront costs comes off. "Nobody is telling the story properly," says Putnam. "Let's take what they've leaked: the night before his return to the world stage after 10 years, he goes out and gets drunk," referring an email Phillips purportedly wrote stating that Jackson was "drunk and despondent" the night before a March 2009 press conference announcing the "This Is It" dates. "He's a 50 year-old man with a reputation for being nervous, I don't think anybody's going to find that surprising."

Other e-mails between Phillips and Ortega show the latter expressing major concerns about Jackson's condition at rehearsal. According to Putnam, those particular e-mails show only "that during one rehearsal on one night about a month before it's going to open in London, [Jackson is] in bad shape. We then call the doctor, who says basically, 'Stay out of my purview'; we don't take that under face value, we go in meetings with Michael the next day, he's clear, he's lucid."

It should be noted that performance contracts are not a one-way street; AEG had to hold up their end of the bargain, as well. "After one night of a bad rehearsal a month in advance, [as producers] we can't pull out, that would be breach of contract," says Putnam. "Moreover, his next two performances at rehearsals were brilliant."

Putnam also points out the absence of any mention of drug abuse by Jackson in the e-mails. "None of this stuff that was released has anything to do with Propofol -- and let's remember what killed him," Putnam says. "He died from acute Propofol overdose, and none of this stuff is about that, there's no connection here."

As to why he believes the e-mails were leaked in the first place, Putnam says, "They're afraid, rightly, that they have no legal case. They're trying mix things up out there in the world for public opinion, [and] the jury pool. But what a jury might find upsetting is very different from whether or not there is a legal claim, and this is a legal claim here."

Putnam would not describe the interview as damage control. "This is a real and proper sense of outrage at the idea that a court order has been violated and selective documents have been released to the public," he says. "That is never supposed to happen."

The attorney also believes that Phillips and AEG have been wrongly portrayed. "To have Randy or anybody at AEG painted as in some way not being talent-friendly or is mistreating talent or whatnot, I think it places a false responsibility on Randy and AEG," he says. "Our job is to go out and promote and present concerts. That's what we do. We're not talent managers, there's a lot of things we're not, and what we're certainly not are medical professionals. We don't have a society where people are expected to intervene in other people's personal lives, nor should we have such a thing."

LOS ANGELES — Concert giant AEG Live is seeking book drafts and manuscripts by Jermaine Jackson that it claims may reveal details about his superstar brother that will help its defense in a lawsuit filed by the singers’ mother.

AEG is seeking drafts and manuscripts of Jackson’s recent book, “You Are Not Alone,” as well as an unpublished memoir it claims may focus on Michael Jackson’s alleged drug abuse.

Jermaine Jackson’s attorneys are fighting the request, calling them overly broad and in violation of the First Amendment, according to court filings. Turning over the writings also would violate the privacy of Michael Jackson’s three children and other family members and constitute a “fishing expedition,” according to documents filed Monday.

AEG’s attorneys contend the writings are important to its defense in a case filed by the singers’ mother claiming the concert promoter failed to properly supervise Conrad Murray, the physician convicted of involuntary manslaughter for Michael Jackson’s June 2009 death.

Their efforts seek drafts of a book described as “Legacy: Surviving the Best and the Worst,” which was reportedly in the works several years before the pop superstar’s death. AEG claims drafts of the work would show issues “of immense relevance to this case, including Michael Jackson’s rumored long-term abuse of prescription medication.”

AEG’s attorney Marvin Putnam wrote in an email that the company was seeking the documents because, during his book tour, Jermaine Jackson publicly touted the “details of his brother’s life and death.” Putnam also wrote that Jermaine Jackson claimed he was the “only person qualified to deliver the real Michael.”

The writings are not covered by protections afforded to investigative journalists since they are memoirs, AEG wrote in its motion to get a judge to order the release of the materials. A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 28.

Jermaine Jackson’s lawyer Kevin Boyle, who also represents his mother in the lawsuit against AEG, was not immediately available for comment.

AEG had promoted Michael Jackson’s comeback shows, titled “This Is It,” which were canceled after his unexpected death due to an overdose of a hospital anesthetic the singing had been given to help him sleep.

The company also is seeking to depose Jermaine Jackson. And it obtained a judge’s order Wednesday requiring Jackson’s longtime friend and dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein to appear for a deposition next month.

Katherine Jackson sued AEG in September 2010, and the case is scheduled for trial in April 2013.

The company also is involved in a separate lawsuit filed by Lloyd’s of London over Michael Jackson’s life insurance policy. Putnam said the company has informed Lloyd’s that it has recouped its losses and is no longer pursuing the claim. Any proceeds should be paid to a company that benefits Michael Jackson’s estate, he said.

AEG’s formal withdrawal of the claim is expected soon, as well as its dismissal from the case filed by the insurer.

Exclusive: as I told you it would happen AEG Live has filed two motions in Los Angeles Superior Court against the family of Michael Jackson. The motions are a response to the leaking of emails in the Jackson family’s wrongful death suit against AEG to the Los Angeles Times. AEG wants monetary sanctions and they want to make sure everything concerning Michael Jackson’s health and other personal information is sealed.There had been a protective order prior to this, blocking any release of information that AEG had turned over to the Jackson side during the case. Now that that’s been violated, AEG wants the court to fine the Jacksons at least $50,000 and to investigate how it happened. They also want everything sealed including testimony from Kenny Ortega, producer of the “This Is It” concerts. The court date for hearing both motions is October 24th.

In addition to monetary sanctions, AEG wants evidentiary sanctions, too. They’re asking the court to prevent the Jacksons from using the leaked emails as evidence in the future–that they’re essentially tainted. If the judge rules in AEG’s favor, the Jacksons would essentially have done themselves in.

On Sunday, September 2, 2012, the Los Angeles Times published a misleading and inaccurate article about AEG’s supposed role in Michael Jackson’s life and death. This article was based on an incomplete set of highly confidential documents leaked to the press despite the fact that a court had ordered that they not be disclosed. As such, the documents were taken horrendously out of context and were calculated to be as damaging to AEG and as misleading as possible.

This is from AEG:“AEG believes the unequivocal evidence shows that Katherine Jackson and her attorneys leaked these documents to the press. The documents released to the press were given to Mrs. Jackson and her attorneys—and to no one else—confidentially in discovery and subject to a court order. Accordingly, AEG has today filed a motion for sanctions against Mrs. Jackson and her counsel for this unlawful leak.

AEG was asked to comment on the article and to provide documents in its defense that would tell a different and more complete story. AEG, however, was unwilling to violate the court’s order in its defense. Many of the documents and other sources that support AEG’s position had also been designated as confidential by third-party witnesses in Katherine Jackson’s lawsuit against AEG. These witnesses trusted that their materials had been provided in confidence, that their confidentiality would be respected, and that only the court could order the materials’ release. AEG could not and would not violate those witnesses’ rights by turning their documents over to the press without their permission.

Even without those documents, however, the story as written shows that Katherine Jackson’s claims against AEG are simply not true. The story acknowledges, for instance, that Dr. Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson’s long-term physician, and that it was Michael Jackson who demanded to bring him on tour. The story also acknowledges that no agreement with Dr. Murray was ever signed, and that Dr. Murray was never paid by AEG.

The story also acknowledges, albeit obliquely, that even after Michael Jackson appeared ill on June 19, 2012, both Dr. Murray and Michael Jackson himself repeatedly insisted that Michael Jackson was fine, healthy, and eager to perform the concerts. And again, as the story acknowledges and the film This Is It demonstrated, Michael Jackson backed up that claim by performing brilliantly at the next two rehearsals. AEG could not, and did not, cancel its agreement with Mr. Jackson, a respected performing artist who insisted he was ready and willing to perform, simply because he’d been ill one night.

Given all this, one might wonder why Mrs. Jackson or her counsel would choose to leak these documents. After all, their publication hurts her son’s memory and her grandchildren more than anyone else. Unfortunately, the reason plaintiffs chose this course is transparent—plaintiffs know they cannot win on the law and are losing control over the case. After months of discovery, plaintiffs now know what we have known all along – there is nothing to support their claims. Defendants did not hire Dr. Murray nor were they responsible for the death of Michael Jackson. In the meantime, we’ve all watched the press as the Jackson family has made ever-more-wild accusations against everyone involved in Michael Jackson’s life— except themselves.

We look forward to telling the full, complete and accurate account of what actually happened, when the materials that were unlawfully leaked to the press can be put in context and the full story can legally be told. Until that time, defendants will continue to abide by their ethical obligations and the orders of the court.”

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Michael Jackson's mother sat quietly in court on Wednesday watching as her lawyers fought loudly with attorneys for AEG, the concert promoter she accuses of contributing to the pop star's death.

They argued over who leaked e-mails to a reporter that revealed the promoter had doubts about Jackson's health and his ability to be ready for his "This Is It" concerts several months before his death.

"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," AEG executive Randy Phillips wrote in a March 5, 2009, e-mail, the day Jackson announced the tour plans. "I (am) trying to sober him up."

The judge must decide if she will exclude those e-mails from the wrongful-death suit filed by Katherine Jackson and her son's three children against AEG.

Jackson died of an overdose of a surgical anesthesia in combination with sedatives on June 25, 2009, according the the Los Angeles County coroner. Dr. Conrad Murray, who was hired to be Jackson's personal physician as he prepared for the shows, was found guilty last year of involuntary manslaughter in his death.

The Jackson suit contends that AEG contributed to the pop star's death by pressuring him to prepare even though the promoters knew he was in a weak condition and by its hiring and supervision of Dr. Murray.

The judge overseeing the case sealed those documents. AEG filed a motion accusing the Jacksons and their lawyers of leaking them to Los Angeles Times reporter Harriett Ryan, who used them for a story she published in September.

"It is clear that only one entity could have done it," AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said. The cache of e-mails, which the reporter shared with AEG, have "certain unique characteristics" that prove they were given to the Jackson lawyers by AEG as part of discovery in the wrongful-death lawsuit, Putnam said.

AEG asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Yvette Palazuelos to punish the Jacksons by not allowing them to use those e-mails in next year's trial when they try to prove the promoter is liable for Michael Jackson's death.

"He has accused 10-year-old Blanket Jackson," Jackson lawyer Kevin Boyle said, pointing to Putnam. "What's the idea, that Blanket Jackson got some documents and copied them and somehow walked them from Calabasas to Harriet Ryan?"

Jackson lawyers denied anyone associated with their legal team or their clients leaked the e-mails, even suggesting AEG lawyers may have done it themselves as a set up.

"They could have easily disclosed all of these documents with zero punishment from the court," Boyle said.

Ryan has refused to disclose her sources, although Howard Mann -- who was once Katherine Jackson's former partner in a book venture -- has acknowledged that he gave the reporter a box of documents for her story.

Days after the e-mails were published, AEG dropped its claim against a Lloyds of London underwriter for a $17.5 million insurance policy for Michael Jackson.

The insurer contended AEG hid Jackson's health problems and failed to respond to repeated requests for his medical history when applying for insurance for the 50 shows scheduled for London's O2 Arena.

The Michael Jackson estate, which controls Michael Jackson Company LLC, is still pursuing the insurance payout.

Perry Sanders, who is Katherine Jackson's personal attorney, told the judge that the Jacksons had no motive to leak the e-mails."Like we would go and blow up our own case against Lloyds of London?" Sanders said. "Our client and all the plaintiffs in this case are actually the ones who would receive the money."

Sanders also noted that AEG had failed to disclose the e-mails to the Lloyds of London lawyers despite a legal requirement to do so.

While publication of the e-mails might have made AEG look bad, they were "extremely negative against Michael Jackson," painting him "as a basket case," Jackson lawyer Deborah Chang said.

"It's much more negative about Michael Jackson than it is about AEG, by far," Chang said.

The Jackson lawyers accused AEG of using the e-mail issue as a way to delay the wrongful-death trial.

"They've been very successful in tying us up completely and I am sure they are giggling about it back in the office," Boyle said.

AEG previously convinced the judge to delay the trial, which was set for last month, until next April.

"This case is so strong that we very stringently argued this case should have gone to trial in September," Sanders said. "The only people that seem to be trying to keep this case from going forward are the defendants."

The anger and passion between the six Jackson lawyers and AEG's Putnam was evident with personal charges of bad ethics flying from both sides in court Wednesday.

"I've never seen anything like it in my career," Jackson lawyer Brian Panish said. "They think they can just smirk around and make these defamatory statements without evidence."

The documents made public in the Times story are not the most damaging to AEG that were uncovered, Boyle told CNN.

"We can assure you that we are in possession of documents that make for an extremely compelling story in the wrongful-death case, and that completely support the plaintiffs' claims," he said.

It was unusual for the 82-year-old Katherine Jackson to attend such a hearing, suggesting the case is also very personal for her.

The revelations from the leaked e-mails including one written by Randy Phillips weeks after Jackson's death in which the president of AEG Live -- the concert-promotion branch of AEG -- called it "a terrible tragedy," but adding "but life must go on."

"AEG will make a fortune from merch sales, ticket retention, the touring exhibition and the film/dvd," Phillips wrote. In fact, AEG Live was allowed to sell Jackson tour merchandise and share in the profits from the documentary "This Is It," produced from rehearsal video.

The e-mails suggest AEG Live's president saw Jackson's problems first-hand the day the pop star was to appear at the O2 Arena to publicly announce the shows.

"MJ is locked in his room drunk and despondent," Phillips wrote in the March 5, 2009, e-mail to AEG Live's parent company, the paper reported. "I (am) trying to sober him up."

"I screamed at him so loud the walls are shaking," Phillips wrote. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it is show time."

The promoter blamed London traffic when Jackson was 90 minutes late for the announcement that day.

"He's as healthy as he can be -- no health problems whatsoever," Phillips told CNN two months later to refute reports Jackson's health was threatening the concerts.

The Los Angeles Times story, however, said the e-mails indicated major doubts about Jackson's ability to perform.

"We cannot be forced into stopping this, which MJ will try to do because he is lazy and constantly changes his mind to fit his immediate wants," AEG Live executive Paul Gongaware e-mailed to Phillips.

Jackson's missed rehearsals in June triggered concerns in e-mails that he was slow in learning his dance routines and would have to lip-sync on stage, the newspaper reported.

"MJ is not in shape enough yet to sing this stuff live and dance at the same time," one e-mail from the show's music director read, the paper reported.

A production manager wrote: "He was a basket case. Doubt is pervasive."

A loud warning from show director Kenny Ortega, who worked closely with Jackson on previous tours, came in mid-June, just over a week before his death. Ortega wrote to Phillips that Jackson had "strong signs of paranoia, anxiety and obsessive-like behavior" and suggesting they bring a "top psychiatrist in to evaluate him ASAP."

"It is like there are two people there. One (deep inside) trying to hold on to what he was and still can be and not wanting us to quit him, the other in this weakened and troubled state," Ortega wrote. "I believe we need professional guidance in this matter."

Ortega testified at Murray's trial about his concerns about Jackson's frail condition and missed rehearsals. It resulted in a meeting six days before Jackson's death in which Murray assured the promoters he would have Jackson ready for rehearsals that next week.

An e-mail from Phillips after that meeting said he had confidence in Murray "who I am gaining immense respect for as I get to deal with him more."

"This doctor is extremely successful (we check everyone out) and does not need this gig, so he (is) totally unbiased and ethical," Phillips' e-mail said.

Los Angeles (CNN) -- The judge presiding over the Michael Jackson family's wrongful death lawsuit against AEG rejected the concert promoter's arguments that family members were the source of leaked e-mails in the case.

AEG lawyers accused Michael Jackson's three children, his mother and their lawyers of giving the e-mails to a newspaper reporter in violation of the judge's order that they remain under seal.

"It is clear that only one entity could have done it," AEG lawyer Marvin Putnam said in a hearing last month.

Jackson family lawyers became furious in court, pointing out that AEG was accusing 10-year-old Blanket Jackson, the youngest of the children."What's the idea, that Blanket Jackson got some documents and copied them and somehow walked them from Calabasas to Harriet Ryan?" attorney Kevin Boyle said, pointing to Putnam.

Jackson lawyers denied anyone associated with their legal team or their clients leaked the e-mails, and suggested that AEG lawyers may have done it themselves as a set up.

The communications, published two months ago in the Los Angeles Times, revealed the promoter had doubts about Jackson's health and his ability to be ready for his "This Is It" concerts several months before his death.

AEG wanted the judge to punish Katherine Jackson and the children -- Prince, Paris and Blanket -- by not allowing their lawyers to use the e-mails to convince a jury in a trial set for next April that the company contributed to the pop star's death.